The state government on Friday removed Lucknow zoo director Renu Singh for alleged laxity in the management of the zoo where as many as 20 blackbucks have died since September 7. Minister of State for Zoological Gardens Shiv Pratap Yadav said the transfer followed the report of a two-member probe committed formed by the state government. Yadav said the deaths of blackbucks indicated laxity. The two-member committee of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Training and Research) Ashwani Kumar and veterinarian J K Pandey submitted its report to the government last week. Yadav said the state govenrment was still considering the report of the committee in order to take further action. While the postmortem revealed they died of lung infection,the pathological tests conducted by Bareilly-based Indian Veterinary Research Institute found the animals had died after consuming toxic green fodder. Singh has been transferred to Forestry Training Centre,Kanpur. Anupam Gupta,who was posted at Forest Research Centre,Kanpur,has replaced Singh.
